Uni Futsal shuts as UOW Pulse goes on the hunt for revenue

Ms Preston's team has welcomed and farewelled members, but for the past 15 years during high school, university, starting careers and becoming parents, Monday nights during winter were set aside for the five-a-side, indoor version of soccer.

"For lots of people that competition is their opportunity to still participate in soccer," Ms Preston said.

So it was with shock and surprise that Ms Preston heard that the competition was closing for good.

On Monday, January 8, the organiser of the long-running competition Uni Futsal announced in a Facebook post that there wouldn't be any futsal competition this winter.

The summer, seven a side competition would continue, but Uni Futsal and UOW Pulse, which manages UOW's sports facilities, were unable to come to an agreement regarding use of the Sports Hub - a purpose built, multi-sports facility.

Owner of Wollongong Futsal, the outfit behind Uni Futsal, Doug Woodiwiss said for the last few years, each time access to the Sports Hub was negotiated between himself and UOW Pulse, there was the suggestion that Uni Futsal's days were numbered, as other, elite sports teams were also looking to use the space.

"We've survived the storm three times in a row, let's do it again," Mr Woodiwiss said of negotiations over access in 2024.

But in November the news came that there would be no access for Uni Futsal.

A spokesperson for UOW Pulse said the needs of the university came first, but denied UOW Pulse was being excluded in favour of elite sports teams.

"UOW Pulse will always try to accommodate the needs of different groups. However, given the high demand for the facilities, the number of different groups wishing to use them and the competing time demands of the different groups, it is not always possible to accommodate everybody's needs," the spokesperson said.

"While the University likes to share its sports grounds and facilities with community and other sporting groups, if there is a clash between the University's need to use the facilities and those of an outside group then the University's needs take precedence.

"UOW Pulse have been in discussions with Uni Futsal over a period of several months to find a mutually satisfactory arrangement for Uni Futsal's 2024 winter season, but the two parties were unable to reach an agreement."

This dealt a hammer blow to the organisation, and the hundreds of participants who sign up each year, as with the closure of other futsal halls there is limited space for Mr Woodiwiss to take the competition elsewhere.

For Ms Preston and her current, committed team, there was the opportunity to sign up to another, smaller competition, but others will probably not be so lucky.

"Uni Futsal was, on a Monday night alone, 20 plus mixed teams, the competition we've just joined is eight."

Bringing the university and community together

Since its inception, the idea of Uni Futsal was to bring together students and the wider community and make use of UOW sports facilities.

In Ms Preston's experience, the teammates she had on the futsal court became friends outside of the competition, particularly during her studies at UOW.

"The way that the uni hosted the competition actually allowed a lot of uni students to make connections with other people," she said. "One of the girls on my team moved down here from Queensland, and the friendships that she ended up developing were through that program."

This mission dovetailed with that of UOW Pulse, a UOW-owned not-for-profit company, whose primary aim is, as set out in its constitution, to provide sporting, cultural, and social activities for the university community.

The UOW Pulse spokesperson said there was no change to the organisation's mission.

"UOW Pulse also prioritises the needs of UOW student sports clubs, teams and programs over external groups," the spokesperson said.

"This does not represent a change of direction for UOW Pulse, which remains committed to enhancing the social, cultural, sporting, health and recreation experiences of the University community."

UOW Pulse earns part of its income by renting out facilities it controls but UOW owns. These include Sports Hub, for which Uni Futsal paid up to $1800 a week in rent. This income is then used to fund UOW Pulse's charitable, student-focused activities.

UOW Pulse also receives a yearly financial contribution from UOW, which was $2.8 million in 2022, a significant figure when the organisation reported a loss of $3 million in 2022.

However, UOW Pulse has goals to become more financially independent from UOW, while shoring up its own fiscal footing.

One of the ways UOW Pulse raises revenue is through its events arm, Aspire, which rents out UOW buildings for corporate and other functions. The Sports Hub is available to hire as a "multi-purpose indoor sports stadium".

In 2021, event sales brought in $430,953 to the organisation.

Another avenue is through partnering with elite sports teams who can rent the top-tier sports facilities. Already, the Sports Hub has attracted the attention of some of the Illawarra's professional outfits. The High Performance Training Area on the Sports Hub mezzanine is home to NSW Institute of Sport athletes, Illawarra Academy of Sport St George Illawarra Dragons and "other high performance sporting teams".

With the aim to become financially independent, the significant loss reported in 2022 has placed pressure on the organisation to fulfil its charitable objective while leveraging revenue from its commercial operations.

Mr Woodiwiss said he understood it all came down to money in the end.

"I am aware now of how much or how differently things can change when it is purely a monetary decision, I very much understand why the university is doing this."

It seems Uni Futsal was the casualty in these deliberations.

Note: The author was a Uni Futsal participant between 2021 and 2023.